Saudi dies after setting himself on fire in protest

A Saudi man has died after setting himself on fire in protest at his treatment by authorities, the BBC has learned.

Sources told BBC Arabic that more than 100 hundred people gathered outside the police department in capital Riyadh in anger at Ali Jabiri Alhouraysi's death.

He is said to have killed himself after being searched by police.

The incident echoes the death of a Tunisian who set fire to himself as a protest in 2011, triggering revolution.

The death of Tunisian vegetable seller Muhammad Bouazizi helped spark protests that led to the toppling of Tunisian President Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali a week later, and is considered as one of the catalysts for the regional Arab Spring.

Like Mr Bouazizi, Mr Alhouraysi was a vegetable seller.

The BBC understands Mr Alhouraysi killed himself on Wednesday after being unable to present his identification papers when he was searched by police. He is said to have been previously stripped of his Saudi citizenship.

Read more here via the BBC.